A battle has begun in Iraq for control of the city of Tikrit: Saddam Hussein’s hometown. ISIS has held it since June last year, and now government forces are trying to take it back. But there are concerns that Shiite militias might seek vengeance for ISIS atrocities.

Last week, a group of ISIS fighters destroyed ancient statues and artifacts in the museum of Mosul. Iraqi government responded on Sunday by re-opening the Baghdad Museum, giving people in Baghdad their first glimpse of national treasures in more than a decade.

As many as 90 Assyrian Christians have been kidnapped from villages in northeastern Syria by ISIS fighters, and may become fodder for a prisoner exchange between the militants and the Kurdish rebels who are holding some jihadis captive.

ISIS' self-proclaimed Islamic State is crumbling. With momentum lost and victories in short supply, the terrorist organization has struggled with the most basic responsibilities — like keeping the lights on.

Egypt is striking back against ISIS for the brutal killing of 21 Egyptian Christians. Airstrikes have targeted ISIS camps and other facilities in Libya, where the Egyptian Christians were beheaded. This latest brutality shows ISIS' expanding influence beyond Iraq and Syria.

President Barack Obama is calling on Congress to authorize a three-year war on the so-called Islamic State. But expanding the battle to defeat ISIS won't do much good if the rise of the militants is a symptom, not the root, of Middle East instability.

Baghdad ended its decade-long curfew on Saturday. The curfew was implemented during the 2003 US-led invasion, requiring residents to remain indoors between midnight and 5 am. The violence in the capital city hasn't ended, but lifting the curfew was met with celebration.

Experts are realizing there's no way to capture or kill our way out of the problem of Westerners joining radical groups in places like Iraq or Syria. Luckily, there is an increasing number of programs aimed at bringing these mostly young men back into the fold.

Confetti rains down while the Bud Clydesdales lead an American veteran on his surprise welcome home parade. We asked our network of veterans what they thought of the ad. Marco Werman speaks with the mother of a Marine who served in Afghanistan.

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12/15/2014 - 10:30am

It's reminiscent of a black-and-white pirate flag and, for some, it conjures up similar feelings of death, destruction, outlaws and violence. Here is our quick explanation of the symbolism of the flag and the meaning of its Arabic phrases.

Henry Kissinger grapples with the underpinnings of global conflict in his new book "World Order." He spoke with PRI's The World host Marco Werman today about a range of issues, including the war on ISIS. But when we asked about his role in the 1973 coup in Chile, he refused to answer.

ISIS' self-proclaimed Islamic State is crumbling. With momentum lost and victories in short supply, the terrorist organization has struggled with the most basic responsibilities — like keeping the lights on.

Nahida Ahmed Rashid began her military career years ago, fighting for the Kurdish separatist cause. Now she's the highest-ranking woman in the Kurdish peshmerga and squaring off with her troops against Islamic militants who've taken northern Iraq by storm.

Iraqi authorities are going to great lengths to pull off a national vote for its parliament on Wednesday, the first since the US troop withdrawal in 2011. The hardest part is to create a sense of normalcy in a country suffering from unrelenting sectarian violence.

One day, Dean Parker was watching the news on TV. The next he was packing up body armor and preparing to fight with Kurdish forces against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria. Now he's looking for a flight home — and knows he has some explaining to do to the FBI and Homeland Security.

An oil tanker sitting 60 miles off the coast of Texas holds $100 million worth of crude oil. But for now, no one knows who's allowed to sell it, who the buyer is or even where the oil will eventually go.

Yoga's not the first thing that springs to mind when thinking about treatment for PTSD in veterans. But from the VA a to the Pentagon, yoga classes are becoming not just commonplace, but in some rehabilitation programs mandatory.

Nahida Ahmed Rashid began her military career years ago, fighting for the Kurdish separatist cause. Now she's the highest-ranking woman in the Kurdish peshmerga and squaring off with her troops against Islamic militants who've taken northern Iraq by storm.

Fijian soldiers have been part of UN peacekeeping operations in Iraq since 2004. Five have been killed and others are being held captive by the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. One way the brigade stays committed and strong is to sing. And they believe it keeps them safe, as well.

Had things been a little different, Jiyayi Suleyman might have been a peshmerga fighter alongside his uncle and other Kurdish troops. Instead he's a police office in Nashville trying to keep the city's residents there safe.

When Army veteran Ron Capps first exhibited symptoms of post traumatic stress he was unsure about what to do and where to turn. We take a look at his journey to get help and talk and speak with a military psychiatrist about the path to diagnosis and treatment of PTSD.

In recent months, Iraqi Christians have been displaced by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Christian leaders in northern Iraq are calling upon young Christian men fight alongside the Peshmerga and Iraqi army against ISIS. While thousands are heeding the call, most remain skeptical.

ISIS' self-proclaimed Islamic State is crumbling. With momentum lost and victories in short supply, the terrorist organization has struggled with the most basic responsibilities — like keeping the lights on.